Four passengers on a train in Maharashtra’s Palghar railway station were shot and killed by an RPF jawan early on Monday, July 31. An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and three passengers—all Muslim men with beards—across nine carriages were among those slain.
“The firing incident inside the Jaipur Express train (12956) has been claimed to have resulted in four casualties, including the ASI. The defendant was taken into custody and the RPF has alerted DCP North GRP”, according to ANI.
Chetan Singh has been named as the accused RPF constable. He reportedly shot and killed Tikaram Meena, a senior officer, in coach B-5 first, according to the PTI and Hindustan Times. He then killed Abdul Kaderbhai Bhanpurwala, another traveler on the same coach, by shooting him. After that, Singh proceeded through four coaches without drawing his firearm until he encountered and killed Sadar Mohammed Hussain, a traveler in the pantry compartment. Before shooting his third victim, Asghar Abbas Shaikh, in coach S-6, Singh crossed two other coaches.
Hindustan Times reported that, “All 3 commuters had facial hairs. Singh ordered the onlookers to capture his brief, hate-filled tirade against Muslims for the benefit of the media as Asghar’s body slumped onto the small corridor while he rested his weapon on the side seat”.
According to a source cited by The Indian Express, Kumar began the fire after arguing with Tika Ram. According to the source, “Kumar and his senior ASI Tika Ram were deployed in the train for security during which the firing incident took place following a disagreement between Kumar and Ram”.
Although the cause of the shooting is yet unknown, a Western Railway employee in Mumbai informed The Indian Express that a brawl had allegedly started after an argument over communities and felt bad for the shooting incident that involved ASI Tika Ram and other 3 passengers. After pulling the alarm chain, constable Chetan Kumar sat down next to Dahisar and attempted to leave. However, RPF Bhayandar captured him and the weapon, an official informed the newspaper. “Our investigation is ongoing, and we are speaking with the accused and other passengers to determine the precise cause”. The RPF has stated that the families of those who were killed will receive ex-gratia compensation. Inspector General and Principal Chief Security Commissioner for Western Railway, P.C. Sinha, stated that Constable Chetan Singh has mental health problems and has a short fuse. He opened fire on those who were in front of him after first shooting his supervisor, he said.
